Helium-3 is a very precious isotope of Helium primarily mined on Mars, as well as other planets. Mined as a gas, it serves as the society's primary source of energy, powering spacecraft, infrastructure and the advanced technology used to terraform various locations across the Solar System. The task of harvesting the substance is delegated to lowReds in the subterranean mining colonies of Mars.
At the time of the Rising, the Society had three major stockpiles of Helium-3:
Mining[]
Helium-3 is mined by lowReds, and the majority of Helium-3 is mined from subterranean pockets on Mars. clawDrills are used to extract most of the Helium-3, and handheld drills collect the rest. Helium-3 mining is extremely hazardous, and since the majority of lowRed males participate in it, their life expectancy is the lowest of any caste in the society.
Mines[]
Helium-3 mines house hundreds of lowReds each, divided into several clans. Each clan has a drill team with 2-300 members who extract Helium-3 per society quotas. They are paid in material goods rather than money, and deprived of these if quotas aren't met. Clan Gamma are given additional goods for being the most productive clan (although this is revealed to be a farce intended to sow division amongst the reds).
Reds in the mines are told that the surface of Mars is uninhabitable and forbidden from ever leaving for this reason. Each mine is presided over by a copper who employs a gray militia to uphold the Society's laws. Infractions are punished harshly with incarceration, beatings, lashings and execution depending on the severity of the offence.
Drill team[]
Each team operates one clawDrill, driven by the helldiver. Other team members include:
headTalk -the leader of a team. All other team members follow their orders. Narol is a headTalk.
Driller -workers who climb down the mineshaft behind the clawDrill and collect "chaff" Helium-3 with handheld drills.
haulBack -workers who bring mined Helium-3 up the shaft for storage.
scanCrew -smaller team that supports drill teams by scanning gas pockets to ensure the clawDrill can proceed safely.
Hazards of Helium-3 mining[]
Helium-3 mining is considered one of the most dangerous professions in the society for several reasons:
Temperature -clawDrills in operation heat the air inside the mineshaft to hundreds ofdegrees. Miners wear frysuits to survive this.
Gas pockets -pockets of flammable gas in Mars's crust can be ignited by drilling, which can wipe out entire drill teams
Pitvipers -mutant snakes that live beneath Mars's surface and lay their eggs in warm places, including human abdominal cavities. They can bite through frysuits and paralyze miners with their venom. Immature pitvipers are considered more dangerous because "they don't know how to ration their poison" and can kill victims with a single bite.
Cave-ins -mineshafts can collapse unexpectedly, killing everyone inside.
clawDrill -miners occasionally get limbs trapped in the machinery. They carry slingBlades specifically for amputating their own limbs to save their life if this occurs.